Question:

How do I plant a hanging basket?

Plants To Use: Impatiens.

A simple, but stunning effect can be had by planting a wire basket entirely with Busy Lizzies.
In full flower the basket is a perfect sphere of colour.
Types To Use:
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I have received consistently good results with "Accent" Impatiens, however any F1 hybrid type will give similar results.

How To Plant
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Place a 14" basket on a large pot for stability. Place a pre-formed recycled paper liner in the basket and half fill with a good , peat based compost, enriched with slow release fertiliser and water retention granules.
Push the small plants through the side planting holes , working round the basket from bottom to top.
Fill the basket up to the rim with more compost and plant nine more impatiens into the top of the basket.
Water in well and stand the completed basket in a sheltered shady place in the garden for a week or so. (If you hang the basket before the young plants have grown new roots , the wind will shock them!)

Aftercare
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Impatiens baskets do best in shade , but will require watering every day when in full growth, (Every other day if water retention granules have been added to the compost).
For spectacular baskets, six weeks after planting start liquid feeding weekly with a high potash liquid fertiliser such as a propriety Tomato feed.

Plants To Use: Surfinia Petunias

The well known trailing Petunia has revolutionised the hanging basket industry. The best Surfinias and other comparable Trailing Petunias are:
Surfinia Blue : Sweetly scented!
Surfinia White: Startling!
Surfinia Giant Purple
Surfinia Pink Vein
Surfinia Blue vein
Surfinia Pink Ice: Not so vigorous, but does have variegated foliage to compliment the pink blooms.
Surfinia Sky Blue
Surfinia Hot Pink

Plants To Use: Fuchsias

Use five plants of the same variety . Make sure you use a trailing type , rather than the upright bush Fuchsias.
Reliable Basket Fuchsias are:
Annabel: An outstanding large double flowered white/ blush.
Cover Girl : Red/ Sky blue semi-double. Medium sized blooms
Dancing Flame : Lovely large pure orange flowers.
Eva Boerg: Blush white/ Violet . Medium semi double blooms.
La Campanella : Small flowered but in profusion. White flushed pink/Imperial purple.
Swingtime: An old favourite with large double red and white blooms.
Pink Panther: All pink medium sized semi-double blooms.
Marinka: All red medium sized single blooms

How To Plant.

Choose a 14 inch diameter wire or solid sided basket. Fill with a good quality potting compost and mix through a handful of slow release fertiliser, such as osmocote.
Add a teaspoon of water retention granules, such as Swelgel.
Plant five basket plants of the same species equidistant around the edge of the basket.
A good tip is to plant them on their side to encourage the trailing growth.
Hang the basket after a week to minimise the shock of the wind on the new plants!

Plants To Use: Ivy Leaf Geranium

The European mainstay for this type of basket is the Ivy leaf Geranium . The best sorts to use are the single flowered types:
Cascade Lilac
Cascade Red
Cascade Pink
Decora Lilac
Decora Pink
Decora Red
Evka: Red with silver edged foliage.
Ville de Dresden : White
All of these varieties are short jointed, compact and very floriferous

How To Plant

Here is the basic method and some suitable plants which have proven reliable for me. Colour choice is a matter of personal taste. Soft pastels, contrasting colours, single coloured baskets or wild hot clashing mixes , the choice is yours!
(1) Sit the empty basket on a large pot for stability, place in your chosen liner and half fill with the potting compost.
(2) Push 3 "quality" plants in a triangular formation through the holes in the middle layer of the liner. Suitable plants for this are (Choose 3 only!): Chlorophytum, Asparagus sprengeri, Nepeta , Tradescantia, Bidens, Diascia , Helichrysum petiolare, Bacopa, Lotus and Laurentia
(3) Fill all the other pre-formed spaces with annuals such as : Trailing Lobelia, Dwarf Violas (E.g. Princess )& Impatiens.
(4) Top up the basket with more compost.
(5) Plant a single tall bushy plant in the centre. Good plants to use are Pelargonium, Agryanthemum, Osteospermum, or a bush Fuchsia.
(6) Around the centre plant three medium annuals such as Petunias in a triangular formation
(7) Just in front of the medium annuals and in the spaces in-between, plant three small annuals such as French Marigolds or Begonia semperflorens.
(8) Plant 3 trailing flowering plants on their sides, (To encourage trailing), at the outer edge of the basket. Suitable plants include Surfinia Petunias, Bidens, Helichrysum, Trailing verbena, Ivy leaf geranium Trailing fuchsia, trailing begonia. A lovely effect is gained by choosing 3 different plants. Surfinias, Bidens and Helichrysum are rampant and may swamp the weaker growers, but will happily compete with each other!

(9) Planting is complete! Water well and stand the basket on its pot in a shady part of the garden for a week or so before hanging up.

Lining Materials.

Traditionally, wire hanging baskets were lined with sphagnum moss, turf (sod) or even strawy stable manure! (Who says they were" The Good Old years!")
Sphagnum moss undoubtedly looks aesthetically pleasing in a newly planted hanging basket, where you can still see the sides. After a few weeks you will not be able to see the sides so use what is most convenient.
I make in excess of 350 20" mixed baskets per year and have used Moss, pre formed liners and even black polythene, slit to make room for the plants.
Without a doubt, performed liners made from recycled wood pulp, paper or coir are easy to use and give excellent results. A major advantage is that side planting holes are pre- formed so there is no guesswork at how many plants to use and how far apart to space them.

Size Matters.

Use the largest size of wire basket you can cope with. Anything less than 14" in diameter will look tiny when hung and will dry out very quickly.

A Simple Unfussy Style

A style that is very simplistic is the single species hanging basket. Very popular in mainland Europe, it consists of planting five plants of the same type in the top of a 14 inch basket.
The overall effect is a fairly regular flowering globe shape

Compost / Potting mix.

Use a general purpose potting soil/ compost. Add some slow release fertiliser such as osmocote and water retention gel ( E.G. swelgel or Broadleaf p4).

The Traditional Style Mixed Basket.

Traditional mixed hanging baskets have been used in Great Britain since the Victorian Era.
They consist of several species of plants planted through the sides and in the top of wire baskets .